Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
opencut

opencut

7.8
A mine people dig from the surface, not underground
  • adjective
  • /ˈoʊpənˌkʌt/
  • Australian
translation icon : a cielo abierto
  • The company invested heavily in a new opencut coal mine to increase production.

Examples

  • The opencut mine was visible from miles away.

  • The landscape was dramatically changed by decades of opencut excavation.

  • Safety measures in opencut mining are different from those used in underground operations.

  • Many minerals are extracted from opencut sites.

  • The company invested heavily in a new opencut coal mine to increase production.

  • Safety measures in opencut mining are different from those used in underground operations.

  • The landscape was dramatically changed by decades of opencut excavation.

Synonyms

opencast
vsopencut
  • UK
7.0

A mine where people remove rock from the surface instead of underground

is the same meaning but uses a different word form

Antonyms

underground
327 3.0

Beneath the surface of the ground, under soil or rock

Surface Forms

opencut positive

Morphology

opencut = open + cut (transparent) = open + cut

A straightforward compound of 'open' + 'cut' whose meaning ('cut/excavation that is open to the surface') is directly inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Opencut joins open ('not covered') and cut ('to remove'), so picture the ground being 'cut' away in a big open hole on the surface. That's why an opencut mine is worked from the surface rather than underground.